Slashdot Mirror
First Step In DS Wifi Challenge Complete
josath writes "The DS Wifi Bounty Milestone 1 has been completed! (previously on /.) The hardware registers to use the wifi built into the Nintendo DS has been documented. This is a huge step, as this was done with absolutely no documentation on the hardware. Stephen Stair has received ~$1400 for this milestone, and is working towards getting the other half by creating a tcp/ip stack. Once a TCP/IP stack is implemented on top of the hardware layer, homebrew NDS developers can start using the wifi in their own apps/games! This comes before Nintendo has officially released any wifi-capable games."
The DS is the first portable (besides various TI calculators) I've owned since my original Gameboy. I got it even though I assumed it would be mod-proof like the Gamecube, but have been secretly envious of PSP owners that have been playing homebrew (emulated, copywrited, abandonwarez) games. If this thing can be "compelled" to run arbitrary code, it will have been the wisest investment of my life. Props to Stephen Stair.
For all of you that don't know exactly *why* he did this.
Sgstair has reversed some of the present apps and games that use the wifi capability of the DS in order to get a working homebrew tcp/ip for the community's usage. Nintendo has their own wifi code they they will be using with their games (mario kart, animal crossing, etc) which are due to be released shortly.
Nintendo uses a proprietary protocol called NiFi, which is different from WiFi (802.11x). But Software's the difference. Future Nintendo games will use Wi-Fi (that is, 802.11b) instead of NiFi. Why? Because you can't connect to a standard router with NiFi, only to another DS. So to play games (such as the upcoming Mario Kart and Animal Crossing) over the internet, the DS needs to use NiFi. The article, however, is about a home-made (unofficial) wi-fi implementation that will certainly be used by DSlinux and such programs.
Sorry, I made a mistake, you should read "So to play games (such as the upcoming Mario Kart and Animal Crossing) over the internet, the DS needs to use WiFi"
The same charge could be levelled at Sony and the PSP. The only legitimate reason people have for breaking Sony's copy protection is to produce homebrew stuff. So why not release some APIs that allow people to produce homebrew legally? Hell, they could even release a Linux UMD and let people develop apps to run from their memory sticks. Given a legal outlet, most of the issues with firmware cracks (and people returning PSPs bricked by the process), would go away.
Some random urls:
teh skeen
ds dev
supercard (can't find the M3 and G6 pages longer)
wifime
some info about m3
Emulators for NDS
whatever
It's the business model stupid!
The gaming consoles are tools to sell games, their costs are subsidised and professional development kits are licenced to "authorized" developpers, this enables the game companies to control the market.
They do not want somebody to make a game that could potentially compete with theirs.
An amateur development kit generates a risk of loss of customer control for the editor, and this is insufferable for them.
Once upon a time I worked with a group that wanted (with the support of a very large UN funded NGO) to develop a literacy program for a cheap gaming machine.
After six month of trying to get to "the right person(s)" it was clear that there was "zero" interest in this, (in all companies).
Actually I personally strongly disagree with the "mod people", from my point of view it is similar to trying to be the slightly independent sidekick of the big bully at school.
If the effort done to enhance "closed" consoles would be put into creating "open platforms", we might have a much more diverse and creative ecosystem for kids (and other gamers) to play with.
What could Sony possibly gain from opening up the PSP hardware to homebrew apps? Sure, they may sell a few additional PSP's to the homebrew market, but they don't make any money on those anyways (likely they lose money).
They're much more likely to LOSE game revenue to freely available (or cracked) software than anything else.
Don't expect Sony to be happy or helpful with this. They have no reason to.
MadCow.
I used to have a sig, but I set it free and it never came back.